The Woes of Brookland
by Crowlows19
Summary: When the Cherubs reappear Alex is forced to work with them in order to save his school. Will they get the job done in time? Sequal to One Strange Day.
1. One Month Later

Hey everyone! So this is my story based off of my one-shot One Strange Day. This would probably make a lot more sense if you read that first. Enjoy and review!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider**

* * *

It started out as a quite Sunday with Alex finishing an essay for English while Jack watched some chick flick with a predictable ending. It had been a little over a month since Alex had been told about Cherub and the thought of them still made him a little bitter.

The spy knew he wouldn't wish his experiences on anyone but if these kids had been around all along why was he running off all over the world to get into it with crazed maniacs? Surly someone in the entire Cherub organization could work with MI6 and willingly too.

Alex hadn't heard from MI6 in month nor had he seen any sign of the Cherubs, not that he expected to. He also hadn't seen K-Unit in a while either. They'd come over to drop something off from Mr. Blunt once and had met Jack. She and Eagle had immediately started flirting with each other much to Alex's annoyance. Alex had been rather shocked when he'd opened the box Wolf had handed to him and seen a gun inside. He'd been expecting something from Smithers.

The note inside had said that under no circumstances was he to take it outside the house and that Jack would be the one to actually store it. Jack had proceeded to take the gun and clip and put them in a bucket of water before stuffing the entire thing in the freezer in the garage. The next morning the gun was encased in a solid block of ice, completely useless. Wolf had told her that gun was for protection but Jack refused to thaw the thing. "There's a Louisville slugger in my closet. If anyone breaks in, their head will become my baseball," she'd told K-Unit with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. None of them had felt brave enough to poke any holes in her logic.

Alex finished the last sentence, then saved the file on his laptop, and sighed. He'd gotten caught up on all the schoolwork he'd missed and had even caught up with all his friends. There were still a few rumors but most had died down with his continuous presence over the last month. He hoped it stayed like that, he needed the normalcy. Even after he'd decided he couldn't be a normal kid anymore. It was okay to pretend every now and then.

The doorbell rang cutting into his thoughts.

"Alex, will you get that?" Jack called from the living room. She sounded as if she'd been crying. Alex rolled his eyes at the American's sappiness.

Alex figured it would Tom on the other side of the door or even Jake, another boy he'd gotten to be good friends with. He was in no way ready for the sight that met his eyes. There on his front porch was K-Unit, Mrs. Jones, and two of the Cherubs he'd met a month ago. Alex stood and stared, more than a little shocked at the sudden reappearance of the two spies.

"Hello Alex," Mrs. Jones said. At her voice Alex snapped out of the trance he'd gone into.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked.

"We need to speak with you," Mrs. Jones said. She took a peppermint out of her pocket and popped it in her mouth letting the wrapper fall into the potted plant by the door.

"About what?" Alex asked. Really, they could have just told him to come to the bank. It was hardly necessary to expose his home to the Cherubs.

"We can't speak out here," she told him, all but demanding to be let in. Alex refused to step aside and allow them entrance.

"To bad," he said. "I don't want them in my house." He nodded to the Cherubs who looked rather offended and the blond boy started to look angry.

"It's not like we're gonna destroy the place," the younger girl said. The two were brother and sister and Alex even remember their names: James and Lauren.

"Maybe not," Alex replied. "But just think, if there's a bomb in here you're gonna be pretty useless."

"Cub," Wolf said sternly almost growling at the boy. "Let us in." Alex looked at K-Unit. They'd all been in his home before, they'd all met Jack. He was fine with them as long as they stayed out of his room. He barely even let Jack in there, not that she cared. The Cherubs were a different story completely. He didn't trust them at all and Alex was nothing if not private. He also wasn't going to let K-Unit boss him around in his own home; this wasn't Brecon Beacons and he wasn't really apart of their unit.

"Get lost," he said before slamming the door shut. He didn't lock it however, he'd rather not explain to Jack why they'd busted the door in. K-Unit would get in whether he wanted them to or not. Sure enough he'd barely sat next to a red-eyed Jack when the entire group walked in to the living room.

"Very funny Cub," Snake said sarcastically.

"What's going on?" Jack asked surprised by the sudden appearance of a SAS unit, a head of SO, and two kids she didn't know. She already had a bad feeling about this.

"They came to talk," Alex told her.

"About what?" she asked him still eyeing the unexpected guests. Alex just shrugged in reply.

"We came to speak to Alex about something rather important," Mrs. Jones said.

"Like what?" Jack asked again only this time suspicion colored her tone. Every time MI6 wanted to talk to Alex he'd disappear to God knows where for weeks only to come home with bruises, cuts, broken bones, and in one case, a gunshot wound.

Mrs. Jones took a seat in one of the armchairs. James and Lauren copied her, sharing the other chair. K-Unit remained standing.

"Alex, do you remember the mission Cherub had to bin because you refused to do it?" Mrs. Jones asked. Her voice had no emotion in it so Alex couldn't ell if she was simply reminding him or if she was trying to make him feel guilty.

"Um, yeah," he answered simply.

"Well, Special Operations was able to place several bugs inside the house of a member of Help Earth. We were able to gather information concerning several terrorist plots before they moved their meetings to a more secure location," Mrs. Jones started. "There was a very brief mention of a plan to bomb a school here in London." Alex felt his eyebrows raise in shock and his jaw drop open.

"What?" he said.

"That is why the Cherubs are here," she continued, nodding towards the two siblings. "Mr. Blunt contacted them, as promised, with the information we were able to gather."

"Okay," Alex said. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"Alex, the school the bomb is supposed to go off in, is Brookland," Mrs. Jones said. Alex felt his heart drop into his stomach at the name of his school. This couldn't be happening. Alex felt his two worlds collide at the statement; the world he pretended to be in and the world he'd been blackmailed into. Alex leaned forward his elbows resting on his knees and his hands covering his face.

"Oh my god," he heard Jack say. "When?"

"We are not sure," Mrs. Jones replied.

"What do you mean you're not sure? It's your job to know shit like that!" she shouted.

"As I said, there was only a brief mention of the plot. But it was enough and we are taking it seriously. Lauren and James will be posing as students in Brookland. K-Unit will be the SAS team to respond to any situation that may arise. For security reasons, concerning both Alex and the Cherubs they will be staying here." Alex's head snapped up instantly and he surged to his feet.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" he shouted angrily. "They aren't staying here!"

"Cub, we have to," Fox tried to reason. Alex glared at him. "K-Unit is here to make sure nothing happens to you or James and Lauren. It'll be easier if you're all in the same place."

"I'm not the target, Brookland is!" he said.

"True, but if these people get wind that we know what's going on it could get real ugly," Wolf said. Alex snapped his attention to Mrs. Jones his eyes flashing with an anger very few had seen and those who had been on the receiving end wished they'd never seen.

"Of all the times to give me back-up," he said. "Why now?"

"If the Cherubs find anything," Mrs. Jones said unphased by Alex's look. "It will be more believable coming from four soldiers."

"What does credibility issues have to do with them staying here?" Alex asked. Mrs. Jones stood up and looked Alex straight in the eyes.

"They are staying here Alex," she said her tone telling him that the conversation was indeed over. She turned to leave but paused in the doorway long enough to say, "Do try to play nicely."

When they heard the front door close Alex whirled back to K-Unit. "You're not staying here." Wolf sighed in exasperation and Eagle rolled his eyes.

"Why not?" Lauren asked. Alex turned his head to look at her.

"Why not? I'll tell you why not. This isn't a hotel. It's my home and you aren't welcome here," he said bitterness extremely evident in his tone.

"C'mon Alex," James said. "We have to work together if we're gonna find this bomb."

"He's right Cub," Snake said.

"And what am I supposed to tell people?" Alex asked.

"Don't say anything," Wolf said with a shrug. "They may not notice anything anyway."

"You put too much faith in ignorance," Alex replied.

"Then just say it's a family reunion," Eagle said. Alex couldn't tell if the man was serious or not so he just rolled his eyes.

"How dangerous are these people?" Jack asked finally jumping into the conversation. She normally let Alex wheel and deal with these people but she had a few questions of her own.

"Help Earth is pretty bad," James said. "I've dealt with them before and they can get nasty."

"I thought Help Earth was supposed to be amateurs," Alex said ignoring James's icy look.

"Look Cub, we're staying here for safety reasons as well as practicality," Snake said steering the conversation from Help Earth and any potential fight between the two boys. "We can work better if we're all in the same place."

Alex sensing defeat shook his head and started to leave the room. "Where are you going?" Eagle said.

"Bite me!" Alex shot over his shoulder. He heard Jack say there were two extra rooms upstairs before he walked out of earshot and into the kitchen. Less than a minute later the redhead walked in after him. Alex was leaning against the counter staring blankly at the wall.

"They have a point you know," she said.

"I know," he replied tonelessly.

"Just try to remember it's for your school; for your friends."

"It shouldn't have to be, Jack," he said turning to look at her. Anyone else would have said his eyes were blank but Jack knew him far to well and she saw it. The worry, the fear that they wouldn't find it. That the school would be blown up and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. It was times like this that Jack found herself not thinking about Alex as a fourteen-year-old schoolboy but as a soldier or even a hero.

"But it is," she replied laying a hand on his shoulder before scooping him into a tight hug. He hugged her back briefly before pulling away. He didn't really want to be comforted right now. Not with the bomb threat hanging over his head. "It'll only be for a little while."

"Fine," Alex said giving in. "But I reserve the right to kick them out." Jack just rolled her eyes and smiled. She wondered where she was going to put all these people and if any of them didn't like takeout. She certainly wasn't cooking for eight people. She hated cooking and Alex was right this was certainly not a hotel.


	2. Settling In

Hey everyone! So first off, thanks to everyone who reviewed! Let me know if anything's blindingly wrong in this chapter. Must admit, I really don't have all that much knowledge on guns. lol Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider or Cherub.**

* * *

Alex and Jack were still in the kitchen talking when Eagle found his way in. "There you are," he said his voice light. "Everything settled?"

"Yeah," Jack said a little slowly. "Alex and I will bunk together but that still only leaves two beds and two couches. Someone will have to take the floor."

"We'll make the Cherubs do it," Eagle said with a smile. The two of them began to chatter about what to have for dinner and Alex just tuned them out. He was thinking hard. The bomb threat had come out of nowhere and by a group of eco-terrorists he'd never even gone up against.

When he'd turned down the Cherub mission a month ago he'd decided to figure out just who Help Earth was. He'd found that compared to other terrorist groups, like Scorpia, Help Earth was small time but serious. They'd had a few successful attacks, some on British soil, some not. They were known for bombing animal testing labs, oil rigs, and pharmaceutical companies. They had a moral reason for what they did.

And that was what the problem was. Help Earth was threatening a school, his school. The kids at Brookland weren't rich, their families were middle class. If Help Earth was trying to make a statement to someone it didn't make sense to use Brookland. There were no children of big time scientists and oil company workers as far as he knew. Most of the parents were blue collar type of people. It made no sense to him. Where was the message? The reason? Help Earth's motive was eluding him and it was driving him crazy.

"Hello? Earth to Cub," Eagle said waving his hand in front of Alex's face. Alex snapped out of the trance he'd slipped into almost immediately.

"What?" he snapped.

"You completely zoned out there kiddo," Eagle said. Alex resisted his urge to hit the man for calling him 'kiddo'.

"I was thinking," Alex replied.

"About what?" Jack asked.

"About the bomb threat," he said. Jack brought her thumb to her mouth and bit on her nail, thinking. Eventually she turned to Eagle to ask, "How serious are these people?"

Eagle looked at her quickly as if contemplating what he should say and how much she could handle. "Well, Help Earth _are_ terrorists, a bit amateur compared to some, but I'd say they're pretty serious."

"How dangerous?" asked Jack. Alex couldn't tell if she was worried, scared, or just curious; Jack had a pretty good poker face.

"Like I said, they're terrorists. Why?' Eagle said.

"Oh, I was just wondering if we should thaw the gun-cicle," Jack replied. Eagle looked ready to bust out laughing at what she called the gun encased in a solid block of ice out in the garage freezer.

"Would it even still work?" Alex asked. He'd learned about guns form both the SAS and Scorpia training he'd received but neither of them had discussed this situation concerning the up keep of firearms. Eagle's expression went from amusement to thoughtful.

"I don't know," he said. "They don't really discuss if guns still work after being in solid ice for three weeks. We can ask Wolf."

"Wolf!" Jack yelled.

"What?" he answered.

"Would the gun still work if we thawed it?"

"It might!"

The three of them went to the garage, Eagle stopping by the living room to grab the two Cherubs. When Jack pulled the bucket out of the freezer and set it on the ground they stared at it.

"Um, why is there a gun in a solid block of ice?' James asked.

"Jack thinks guns and kids shouldn't mix," Alex said.

"But you're a spy," Lauren said as if something in that sentence made Jack's gun control policy moot.

"Yeah, so?" Alex said.

"Don't you need the gun for like, protection?" James supplied warily. Jack, who was at the workbench searching for some sort of tool, pretended not hear any of this conversation but Eagle stared intently at Alex, anxious to hear his answers.

"I dodge bullets, I don't shoot them," Alex replied. His answer was sarcastic and vague on purpose. Best to let K-Unit think he didn't like using guns instead of being sent without any at all. As soldiers Alex doubted they would understand putting himself in danger without that kind of protection. Alex glanced at Eagle whose face was impassive, refusing to show any reaction.

"Oh," was all Lauren said.

"So you've never used a gun?" James asked sounding as if it was unnatural for a teen spy to have never shot a gun before.

"Did I say that?" Alex snapped, uncomfortable with both the attention and the discussion. He didn't want Cherub to know anything about his missions. Hell, he didn't want K-Unit to know.

"Okay everyone, stand back," Jack said coming back towards the bucket having finally found the tools she'd been looking for, a sledgehammer and a pair of protective glasses. Everyone backed away to the wall and Jack brought the sledgehammer down on top of the ice in a large but controlled arc. The ice and bucket shattered under the pressure and after a few more swings Jack was able to pick the gun and clip up off the floor with only a few small pieces of ice still attached.

Eagle gave a low whistle and asked, "Where did you learn to swing a sledgehammer like that?" He sounded faintly impressed and Alex rolled his eyes as Jack beamed.

"My daddy owned a demolition company back in the states. I've been busting through walls since I was nine," she told him and Eagle smiled.

Alex, who was annoyed by their flirtation, leaned in towards James and Lauren, his Cherub frustration momentarily forgotten. "Think we should leave them alone so they get on with it?" Lauren giggled and the three teens left the two flirting adults among the remnants of the gun-cicle.

* * *

Six hours later the entire group was at the table staring at various maps, blueprints, and paperwork. Even Jack was there having wanted to observe the process out of pure curiosity but at this point she looked pretty bored. Alex couldn't blame her; they'd really gotten nowhere in the last three hours.

When Jack and Eagle had realized they'd been ditched they'd come inside looking a little embarrassed. Eagle had looked over the gun and had found it useless; the ice had broken the firing mechanism.

After K-Unit had bickered for half an hour on the best take out place Jack had finally told them to shut up and that they'd get what they get. She'd then called her friend, Tony, at a small Italian Bistro to ask for some to go platters. After a quick and slightly tense dinner they'd settled down to work.

Alex was faintly impressed when the two Cherubs threw themselves into the paperwork. They'd been pouring through everything asking Alex various questions about Brookland, the teachers, and the students themselves. K-Unit mostly looked at the maps and asked about the surrounding area.

Alex for his part had done nothing but answer the questions they fired at him every so often. Instead he was texting Tom various SAS jokes that the other boy didn't fully understand but made Alex smile. He and Jack passed a Monster* back and forth ignoring K-Unit's glances and the Cherubs looks of disapproval.

Alex knew he was being a brat about the entire situation but in all honesty he didn't care. If he had re-met the Cherubs on the street or some other random location he would have been fine, possibly friendly. But instead MI6 had decided to give them his home. The one place Alex went for normalcy and at least some sense of security. When Alex was home he was just Alex, not a spy. The boy could handle K-Unit being there, however uncomfortable, but the Cherubs reminded him that he was a spy. A very good spy with very real enemies and a very real threat against his school and the kids he'd grown up with. It was hard for Alex to reconcile his two worlds in one place and the Cherubs presence were making it none to easy.

"Alex, are you going to do anything?" Lauren asked finally showing how perturbed she was over his lack of work.

"I've been doing stuff," he replied.

"Like what?" James asked challenging him to come up with a semi-good excuse.

"I answered questions," he said putting on an innocent look; the one Jack always fell for. Lauren rolled her eyes at him.

"C'mon Cub, do something productive," Fox said throwing a blueprint of Brookland in Alex's face. He wrenched it down to the table with a glare and was about to reply when something caught his eye. He studied the blueprint for a second then looked up to see everyone staring at him.

"These blueprints are in complete," he said.

"What are you talking about?" James asked.

"They're incomplete," Alex repeated.

"But we got these directly from MI6," Lauren said. Alex rolled his eyes at the amount of faith the girl had in his bosses.

"That doesn't mean anything," he snapped at her. The girl looked taken aback but didn't reply in any way.

"What's incomplete about them Cub?" Snake probed. Alex immediately shifted his attention to K-Unit.

"They're missing the bomb shelters," he said.

"Bomb shelters?" Wolf asked surprised.

"Yeah," Alex said. "Brookland is a really old school. When they rebuilt it after World War II the Headmaster had them put in a bomb shelter. He was really paranoid that there would be another air raid on London."

"That's a really cool story and all," James said sarcastically. "But what does it have to do with anything?"

"The shelter was built to withstand a bomb but it could also be the perfect place to store one," Alex said annoyed they hadn't caught on yet.

"Why would they store a bomb on school grounds?" Lauren asked. "That's like asking to get caught."

"No, it's not." As it was Jack who said this everyone looked at her in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked her.

"Mrs. Jones said that Help Earth moved their meeting place to a new location. Maybe they knew they were being listened to," Jack told the table.

"Help Earth would want to make sure the bomb is in place when it needs to go off," Alex continued. "If they knew MI6 had overheard something about it they'd need the bomb on school grounds and hidden before the threat started to be taken too seriously. It'd be easier to store the bomb on the school grounds before the government starts to really look at what's going in and out of the schools. Since only students and maybe some of the staff really know about the bomb shelter in the first place it'd be the perfect place to store it until they're ready to move it to the point of detonation.

"And since only students would ever possibly remember the bomb shelter exists they won't be expecting it to be found." When Alex was finished he saw that while K-Unit looked impressed the Cherubs looked dumbfounded.

"You got all that, from an incomplete blueprint?" James asked his shock making its way into his tone.

"Yes," Alex replied shortly.

"And where is the bomb shelter Cub?" Snake asked. Alex shifted in his seat before answering.

"I'm not exactly sure," he said.

"If you don't know where this shelter is, how can you be so sure it even exists?" James asked hotly for some reason annoyed at Alex, who didn't care enough to bother to figure out why.

"Because the original blueprints used to hang in the entrance of Brookland," Alex snapped. "I've seen the shelter on the prints."

"That doesn't explain why you don't know where it is," Lauren pointed out.

"I never made it my goal in life to memorize the damn thing. I saw it briefly everyday but the blueprints were taken down and stored seven years ago when the new trophy case went up," Alex replied a little hotly. Really, why all but demand his help if they were only going to completely distrust everything that came out of his mouth?

"Cub, do you have a vague idea of where the shelter is?" Wolf asked.

"Yeah, it's in the main building for sure. That's how I knew the blueprints were incomplete. I can account for all these doors but the bomb shelter door is hidden."

"Hidden?" Eagle asked confused completely missing the logic.

"Like I said, the Headmaster who had it built was paranoid," Alex said. "The shelter itself is on the blueprints but as a separate unit; it doesn't say where the entrance to the shelter actually is. I assumed MI6 would have known though."

"Would anybody actually know where the entrance to the shelter is?" Wolf asked frustrated that room couldn't be easy to find and bust into. Did everything have to be so damn sneaky?

"I'm not sure," Alex replied.

"What about Marcy?" Jack asked.

"Who?" Lauren asked.

"Marcy's a local historian," Jack said. "It's been almost 65 years since that shelter was put in. If anyone could possibly remember where it is, it'd be her."

"She's right," Alex said. "Marcy went to school at Brookland a few years after it was rebuilt."

"She's a little senile but her records are pretty accurate," Jack finished.

"Okay," Wolf said. "We'll check out that lead tomorrow while you three are in school." He nodded to the Cherubs and Alex. "Keep your eyes open for anything weird and try to find the shelter without the blueprints in case Marcy is a dead end."

With that piece of coordinating from the leader of K-Unit everyone split up to go to bed. Alex and Jack were sharing his room, James and Lauren took Jack's, Wolf took the guest bed, Fox the upstairs couch and Snake the downstairs. Since Eagle had drawn the short straw he got the floor.

Alex laid awake for awhile not feeling very tired. He blamed the Monsters but he knew it was because of the bomb threat.

Everything was more or less riding on their ability to find a section of the school no one had seen for 65 years. Alex could see the unsettling irony in the situation; what was supposed to keep the students of Brookland safe was now housing their possible destruction. When people thought of a bomb shelter, who expected that the bomb was the being sheltered?

* * *

*Don't know if they have these all over the world but it's an energy drink in America. Kids at my school drink them like water but I think they're gross. It'd be better to just eat straight sugar with an over dose of caffine.

Hope everyone enjoyed! Review!

P.S. Tom shows up in the next chapter


	3. Tom

Okay so this kinda a transition chapter. It'll be interesting to see how everyone reacts to Tom as he might be a touch OOC. Anyway hope everyone enjoys and thanks to everyone who reviewed!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider or Cherub**

* * *

The next morning saw Alex the last person to wake up; he couldn't help it, he was tired. Eagle had actually been the one to wake him up busting through the door then taking the mattress and lifting it to flip Alex off the bed. The boy landed in a heap on the floor, dazed and confused. He was thankful he'd worn a shirt to bed as even Jack had a tendency to stare at the bullet wound scar. The last thing he needed was for K-Unit to freak on him in the middle of a mission.

"Time to get up Cub or you'll be late," Eagle said happily in response to Alex's glare. When the man all but skipped out of the room Alex couldn't help but roll his eyes at the obvious morning person.

When he reached the table five minutes later fully dressed, he saw everyone else already up and in varying degrees of sleepiness. He threw himself into the empty chair next to James, folded his arms on the table, and buried his head in them relishing the darkness on his tired eyes.

"Tired Cub?" Fox said a hint of amusement in his voice. Alex only grunted in reply.

Jack, who was clutching her cup of coffee like a lifeline, said, "He probably didn't get much sleep."

"Why?" Eagle asked sounding for some unknown reason as if he honestly cared. "He wasn't even sleeping on the floor."

"No, but I did have to listen to Jack's snoring all night," Alex said lifting his head. K-Unit all smiled and the Cherubs stifled laughs.

"At least I don't kick," Jack retorted.

"That wasn't a kick Jack. I tapped you with my foot to get you to shut up."

"It was a kick," Jack assured the table at large and then to Alex, "And if you ever do it again I'll smack you right out of the bed." Everyone else started laughing but Alex just mock-scowled.

"C'mon we better get going," Snake said glancing at his watch and everyone stood to leave. Fox ended up being the one to drive them school. K-Unit didn't want Alex making himself a target by riding his bike. Fox pulled over to the curb a block away from the school and the Cherubs instantly got out of the back. They started walking leaving Alex behind with Fox and he figured they weren't supposed to know each other. He hadn't really been briefed on the Cherub's cover and wondered when he'd find out and if it was any good.

As he was about to get out of the car Fox stopped him by putting a hand on his arm. When Alex looked at him the soldier held out a small black box with a flat, white button in the center. "Take this," he said and passed it to Alex. "It's a panic button." The boy simply nodded his thanks before getting out of the car and slipping it into the pocket of his uniform. He hoped he wouldn't need this.

* * *

It had taken all but ten minutes for the Cherubs to effectively start making things as difficult as humanly possible. When Alex reached the school he went through his normal morning routine before setting off for double Maths with Tom. He'd met up with Tom, Jake, and a girl named Sally. He avoided the obsessive, scary girl who'd taken a liking to him. He avoided the Headmaster who still hated him for blowing up the Science building. He stopped at his locker then went to class. Not a Cherub or scary looking kill-the-world person in sight.

Mr. Colter, the math teacher, was always late on Monday because first, it was Monday, and second, he had a new baby in the house. Tom and Alex always sat near the back in the class as the man had a tendency to only call on the people in the front. Those seats were taken up by the really smart kids.

As they waited for Colter to show up Tom leaned over and asked, "What was with all the SAS jokes last night?"

"I'll tell you later," Alex replied. He did not want and would not get into a discussion about K-Unit in a room full of thirty of his classmates. Tom would want to know why they were at his home and Alex couldn't leave him to guess the details; the boy's imagination was far to wild. Plus, Alex didn't know if Tom could fully handle the knowledge of the bomb threat not to mention the Cherubs. Alex was still debating on whether he should fill Tom in on that or not. The boy had handled the truth about Alex's 'job' pretty well but Alex didn't feel like it was his place to blow the Cherub's cover.

Tom looked ready to say something else but the door opened and the two turned their attention to the front. Alex's pulse sped up a fraction when he saw Colter wasn't alone. James was in his maths class. _Perfect_, Alex thought. _Haven't I seen enough of this kid?_

"Everyone, this is James Starbright," Colter said and Alex felt himself go numb. _Starbright? As in Jack Starbright? The hell?_

Tom moved his gaze to Alex after hearing the name hoping for an explanation. Alex had completely froze though Tom was pretty sure he was the only who could tell.

"James is new here so let's make him feel welcome," Colter continued. "James, why don't you take a seat next to Mr. Rider there?" James quickly moved to the desk next to Alex and sat down. When Alex glared at him James smiled back. This did nothing to appease Alex's temper and he attempted to ignore the spy's presence for the duration of the lesson. He failed miserably.

* * *

"Starbright! Is that what Eagle meant by a family reunion?" Alex hissed getting into James's face. The boy's eyes widened in shock. When the bell had rung Alex had grabbed the boy's arm in the hallway and practically threw him into a deserted, dead end corridor. The corridor only held storage rooms so no other students were down there. It was the best place for a private conversation. Or so James had thought before he noticed that another boy had followed them and was listening to everything that came out Alex's mouth.

"Alex, stop," James warned. Alex either didn't hear him or was ignoring him.

"Thanks for the warning super spy," Alex said sarcastically. "Are you _trying _to blow my cover?"

"What is you deal?" James hotly at Alex's taunt. If Alex didn't calm down he'd blow both their covers.

"My deal? My deal is you come into my home and my school with some half-baked mission and you don't even have the decency, the professional courtesy, to give a heads up about your fucking cover," Alex ranted. James's eyes shifted from Alex's face to the other boy trying to silently warn him to shut up. Alex noticed the movements and looked over his shoulder before letting out a snort of amusement.

"Please James, I'm not an idiot. I'm aware he's standing there. Tom knows all about my job."

"What?" James asked shocked.

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "Now he knows yours too." James looked at Tom to see him cross his arms and glance away.

"There's another one?" he asked Alex. He didn't sound impressed or even surprised; he sounded sad. James had no idea why.

"Yes," Alex replied. "MI5 has an entire organization of them." James was suddenly furious. Alex had no right to blow Cherub's secret like that and to a civilian! They probably should have warned him about Jack's name but Alex was taking it too far.

"Stop it, Alex," James said coldly putting all his fury into his voice. Alex didn't even blink.

"You can't scare me James," Alex said just as coldly his voice was much scarier than James could ever hope to imitate. "I've faced things you couldn't even imagine."

"I've faced some shit too, Alex," James replied. "Stop being a martyr."

"Fuck you," Alex replied before turning and leaving for his next class. James glanced at Tom to see the other boy scrutinizing him. James suddenly felt like he was under a microscope the boy's look was so intense.

"He's got a point you know," Tom said eventually.

"About what?" James asked.

"About Jack's name. She's a civilian and Alex likes to keep his family and his job separate."

"This isn't a job, it's a life," James replied. Cherub agents didn't attempt to live like Alex. James didn't know how he did it trying to be normal everyday when it was so obvious he wasn't and couldn't be. Tom shook his head and James gave him a confused look.

"It may be your whole life but Alex has things outside of the government," Tom told him. "You had no right to do what you did."

"And what did I do?" James asked a small amount of bitterness reaching his tone. What did this kid know about spy work?  
"You've connected Jack's name to yourself," Tom replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What happens if you're found out? You've made Jack a target and if she gets hurt Alex won't make it either."

"What are you talking about?" James asked confused.

"I'm talking about how you've apparently put a bullseye on the back of the only family Al has left. That's what he was trying to tell you only he was too pissed off to actually get the point across."

"How did you know that was what he was trying to say?"

Tom rolled his eyes and shook his head again. "I've known Alex since we were five. I know what he's like. You should watch yourself he's not going to forget this real easy." With that Tom walked away leaving James contemplate exactly what he'd done and why everyone was suddenly so pissed off about a cover he hadn't even come up with.

* * *

Alex was furious. He couldn't remember ever being this mad about another agent. Although at this point Alex wasn't considering the Cherubs to be anything more than kids playing a dangerous game. In Alex's world a surprise like the one James had just pulled could mean death. Alex's life depended on his ability to keep his cover from people who were looking to hurt him. Now the lives of everyone in the school depended on his ability to keep his cover. Alex hadn't been able to hide his shock and if an enemy with even a modicum of intelligence and background knowledge had been watching Brookland could have been screwed.

Not only that but this left Alex hanging in the wind in regards to his own cover. Was he supposed to know the Cherubs or not? Since he hadn't been told their cover he'd assumed they weren't supposed to know each other. Now everything had changed. It wouldn't take long for his friends to recognize the name Starbright and ask why he hadn't told them about James. Everyone knew Jack pretty well as she was always around and helping out with the school.

Now he'd have to tell another lie to friends he wasn't entirely comfortable with yet. James was adding unnecessary pressure on Alex and he'd only been around for two days! Alex had a hard time believing K-Unit had anything to do with this. Wolf knew the consequences of a trick like that and would have said something had he'd known. Eagle's comment was more likely coincidence than anything.

On top of it all James appeared to have the exact same timetable as Alex did. Really? Was that entirely necessary? He got that they were supposed to be 'partners' and all but all this did was put him on edge. Alex effectively ignored the Cherub all day and James in turn ignored him. At lunch Jake had asked why Alex hadn't told them about Jack's 'cousin' to which Alex replied, "He's not important enough to bother." James had been walking by and had heard the comment but gave no reaction.

Tom, thankfully, had decided to ignore what had happened early this morning. Alex was grateful and knew he'd probably tell him everything anyway. But for now his friend could tell how stressed Alex was and saved the extensive interview for later.

"Seriously Al," Tom said after school that day while Alex waited for James and Lauren to show at the pre-arranged meeting place so Fox could pick them up. "If you don't stop stressing you'll give yourself an ulcer."

"Can't help it Tom," Alex replied. "These kids have no idea what they're doing."

"Have you seen them in action yet?"

"No, but I've read their files. Hell, I've heard them talk. They've never done anything like I have."

"Who has?" Tom said sarcastically and Alex gave a small smile.

"Smart arse," he said.

"I try," Tom said. Alex's I-phone began to ring and he quickly looked at the screen.

"It's Wolf," he said.

"Well then, that's my cue," Tom replied. "Good luck with whatever the hell you're doing Alex." Tom left and Alex quickly answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Cub," Wolf said. "I need you to go back to the school and start a search of the building with James. He's already there."

"Was Marcy a no-go?' Alex asked already walking back towards Brookland.

"Actually, she was dead," Wolf said rather bluntly.

"Dead?" Alex asked shocked.

"Yeah. For a couple days if the smell was anything to go by. We couldn't tell if it was foul play," Wolf replied.

"Oh, so Marcy was literally a dead end?' Alex said not able to help himself. How often could he say that? He could just imagine Wolf rolling his eyes.

"Very funny Cub," he said. "You're jokes are worse than Eagle's." Alex heard an indignant "Hey!" in the background.

"Whatever," he said. "What's Lauren going to do?'

"She's coming with us so we can access to the Cherub database. We need their files on Help Earth and she has the password."

"Okay," Alex replied. "See you later."

"Yeah, later."

* * *

Alex met James in front of the main building and together they entered. Alex stopped walking briefly to look at the bulletin board as something had caught his eye. James was too intent on something else and after a moments hesitation said hotly," I can't believe you blew my cover like that."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me your damn cover in the first place," Alex replied not taking his eyes off the notice he was reading.

"Look, I'm sorry," James finally huffed. "We should have given you a heads up but we didn't think you'd get so pissed off about it. We were told you could control yourself in stressful situations." Alex finally turned his eyes off the bulletin board to fix an icy glare at James. His look was so intense that James's stare eventually faltered and he had to look away.

"You're lucky I don't get you kicked off this mission," Alex said quietly but forcefully.

"Like you have that power," James scoffed.

"You wanna test me and see if I do?" Alex dared him. "Don't forget you're working with my people not the other away around. MI6 has first say as it's my school. They won't hesitate to boot you off this mission if I tell them you're endangering it." James didn't reply and Alex turned away. "C'mon, we have less than 24 hours to find this bomb before Brookland goes sky high."

"How do you know that?" James asked shocked following him towards the door that led to the main office. Alex couldn't possibly get anymore surprising.

"I have my ways," Alex replied coyly. These Cherubs didn't pay attention to shit.

* * *

Next Chapter: Alex and James search the school. James just keeps screwing up. ;)


	4. Search

Alright, here it is! Oh, and you'll find out was on the notcie in a few chapters! Thank you to everyone who reveiwed. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider or Cherub**

* * *

James entered the main office quietly and cautiously as if expecting someone to jump out and attack at any moment. Alex simply walked in and stole one of the bite size Snickers off Miss Bedfordshire's desk before sitting down at her computer. He stared at the screen for a few seconds tapping his fingers on the keyboard and muttering, "Password, password."

"Um, what are you doing?" James whispered asked. Alex ignored him in favor for bending over in his chair to look under the desk. He smiled and reached for out to grab the sticky note stuck underneath. He straightened up and read the password written on the pink square. "Pencil Buns," it said and Alex rolled his eyes at the secretary's bizarre sense of humor and terrible password memory. He logged in and immediately started shifting through the files looking for the ones he needed.

"Alex, what are you doing?" James asked again his rising temper coloring his tone.

"Searching," Alex replied simply. Alex heard James sigh in frustration before turning and tapping the wall closest to him looking for a hallow point. Alex let the Cherub continue for a few minutes as it kept James occupied but the incessant tap, tap, tap soon got on he nerves. "Would you please stop that?" he asked as he clicked the print button. "It's annoying."

James instantly whirled around and gave Alex the best glare he could muster but the other boy had his back turned standing at the printer. "How else are we supposed to find this door?" he asked hotly.

"How about efficiently?" Alex quipped. "It's a waste of time to tap the walls. We'd be here forever. Plus, that wall you were just tapping away at didn't exist before two years ago."

"Well, maybe if you helped I wouldn't have to tap the fucking walls looking for some hidden door that may not even exist!" he exclaimed. Alex turned at looked at him blankly.

"I thought we went over this," Alex replied. "The shelter exists."

"How can you be so sure?" James asked defiantly arms crossed.

"Because these are copies of the original blueprints," Alex replied holding up the pile of papers he'd just printed. "Check it out." Alex laid the papers out on the table that the printer sat on for James to see. When the Cherub came over Alex pointed at one of the sheets. "This is the shelter as a separate unit," he said before pointing to another one. "And this is the current blueprint of the basement in this building. That's where we'll start."

"Why there?" James asked and Alex looked at him as if the Cherub had said the stupidest thing he'd ever heard.

"Please tell me you're kidding," Alex said and sighed when James didn't reply. "What good is it gonna do to have a shelter on an upper floor if the entire building collapses? Plus, this shelter was built to house hundreds of people at one time. If the thing's underground it'll be easier to hide."

"Oh," James replied simply and Alex turned back to look at the papers.

"Now, according to the story the old Headmaster wanted this place to be a secret. It was meant to protect everyone at Brookland for as long as possible. That means they needed supplies, water, and power. Look at these," Alex said and moved another two print outs so they were side by side on the table. "This one," he pointed to the one on the left, "is the original water pipe system. This one is the system after the remodeling. The system got a complete overhaul and most of the pipes were replaced but others were cut off and left to rot in the walls because they had to use the majority of their construction funds to build a new Science building."

"So?" James asked completely missing the point. Alex was fast becoming frustrated by this. The Cherub obviously didn't know anything about Brookland making him, if possible, even less useful which meant most of the work was being shifted to Alex. Alex couldn't tell if the complete lack of knowledge was James's fault or his organization's.

"So," Alex said forcefully. "When the pipes were replaced they were tearing into the walls. Meaning if the door was where they were working it would've been found. It hasn't so there's only three places it could be." Alex quickly grabbed the Sharpie by the printer and marked three black X's on the printout with the basement's blueprint. "Only one of these corridors actually has a room," he continued. "It's an old storage room. We'll start there."

"Why?" James asked looking gob smacked at Alex's innate ability to figure out any problem that could possibly come up.

"Because there's a lot of junk piled in that room," Alex replied glancing at his watch and stuffing the papers into his back pocket at the same time. "The walls are pretty much covered up. We'd better hurry before they come back."

"Who?"

"The staff," Alex replied walking back to the desk to log out of the computer and make sure everything was in the right place minus the stolen Snickers. James looked around as if just now noticing that the building appeared to be empty.

"Yeah, where is everybody?" James asked.

"It's Monday," Alex said walking away which forced James to follow him if he wanted an answer.

"Huh?"

"The staff has meetings on Monday afternoons and they like to use the Science lounge because it's the nicest." They stayed silent as Alex led them down the corridor behind the main office to a door near the end. Disregarding the 'Do Not Enter' sign Alex opened the door and started down the wide flight of stairs leading to the basement. The basement was a maze of corridors, loud generators, and storage rooms.

"If the Headmaster wanted this place to be a secret why put it on the blue prints even as a separate unit?" James suddenly asked. Alex briefly wondered how long James had been pondering this before answering.

"The world was a mess after World War II," he said. "People were scared and London was still rebuilding. The man wanted to make sure enemies couldn't find them but he also wanted to let the parents know that their children would be protected here."

"Oh," was all the Cherub said before falling silent again.

"Don't get me wrong," Alex continued. "The man _was_ paranoid. He had to quit when they checked him into the psyche ward."

"How do know that?" James asked bewildered.

"Everybody at Brookland knows the story," Alex said as he turned a corner. "Marcy wrote a book about it and you read it as a sixth year."

"Why did he go crazy?" James asked interested and Alex couldn't help but give a small smile. It was strange and infuriating having the Cherub around but even Alex found this story fascinating and enjoyed having someone to tell it to.

"He was a soldier," Alex told him. "One of the first to come back from Germany after the fighting stopped. There's no telling what he saw." James nodded and fell silent again.

When they were less than half a corridor away from the storage room Alex suddenly stopped and grabbed James's arm before shoving him into the narrow space beside the water heater they were standing next to. It was situated in a crevice and there was just enough room for them to squeeze in.

"What are you doing?" James whispered.

"Shh!" Alex effectively ignored James's annoyed huff before concentrating hard. Over time Alex had gained a sixth sense like instinct that told him when a place felt dangerous. That instinct had started screaming when he heard the distinct sound of distant footsteps. The person was being extremely loud either not expecting anyone to be down there to hear him or just simply not accustomed to sneaking around. It took a few moments for the person to reach the corridor and as he moved closer Alex was able to see him. He was a rather plain looking man who looked like he had lost a lot of sleep lately. When James caught sight of him he gasped but thankfully the sound was quite enough that it was drowned out by the gurgling water heater. Alex desperately wished he could move his hands so that he could clamp a hand over James's mouth and hit him upside the head at the same time.

When the man disappeared around the corner Alex squeezed out of the hiding place with James right behind him. James instantly took off down the corridor following the man and Alex silently cursed hoping the Cherub wouldn't do something stupid. The spy knew that where there was one terrorist there was likely to be more. Not wanting to abandon James he followed.

They reached the corridor where the storage room was located and Alex saw that the door was open light spilling out. James, to his horror, actually crossed in front of the open door so he could listen in facing Alex. Alex drew up level with the wall stopping just short of the door jam and sent an annoyed glare at James who shrugged.

"Is it ready to go?" someone asked.

"Yes, sir," came the reply. "Everything will be in perfect position by tomorrow morning."

"Perfect. So, where is it?" the first man asked. There was a small uncomfortable silence. "What?"

"Well, we were told not to tell anyone the location of the shelter," the second man replied.

"I'm in charge of this operation," the first man said icily.

"I know Mr. Evans but still. The higher ups said no one could know except those dealing with the device."

"Fine, whatever," Evans said and Alex was a little surprised at how easily he caved. "Any suspicious activity?"

"No, none," the man said sounding a little relieved. Alex wondered if maybe Evans was a loose canon. He was supposedly in charge but being kept out of the loop on the bomb shelter's location by the 'higher ups'.

"Good, keep it that way. This is very important and we can't afford another failed operation," Evans said and Alex sensed a monologue coming on. Apparently he wasn't the only one as the second man said rather quickly, "Yes, sir. I understand."

"Good," Evans repeated. "What time is this thing supposed to go off tomorrow?"

"12:45, sir," the man replied. Alex gave a small smile, perfect, an exact time.

That was when everything went down hill real, real fast and Alex had no one to blame but James. Alex suddenly heard another set of footsteps behind him and then a split second later James's mobile started to blast his techno ring tone at an incredibly loud volume. It was such a rookie mistake even Alex hadn't expected it. The Cherubs were supposed to be trained on some level, amateurs sure, but this was just ridiculous. Alex had automatically turned his on silent after talking to Wolf knowing they might have to sneak out if the staff returned before they were done.

"What's that?" Evans asked as James fumbled to turn the ringer off. Alex made a split second decision, the only one he thought feasible. Gesturing to the metal cabinet a few feet away from James he furiously mouthed, "Hide!" while taking his own mobile out.

James quickly slid into the cabinet closing the door behind him. Alex on the other hand was stuck. He couldn't cross the door until James was hidden and he couldn't go back the way he'd came as there was someone behind him quickly gaining ground. Alex desperately fought his instinct to just bolt.

"Well, what do we have here?" Evans asked mockingly stepping out of the room and catching sight of Alex, mobile in hand, as the cabinet door eased shut behind him. "Who are you?" Alex didn't reply doing his best to look like a kid who was afraid he was going to get detention for being somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. "Who are you?" Evans repeated angrily as Alex heard the person behind him round the corner. He acted fast, sending his fist into Evans's diaphragm with surprising force, winding the man. Alex instantly took off down the corridor and as he rounded the corner he heard Evans shout, rage very evident, "Catch that kid!"

* * *

Next chapter: Alex offically meets Help Earth


	5. Panic Button

And here it is! I've done a lot of updating in last few days so I hope you guys enjoy! This chapter is a little short but it was surprisingly hard to write. Anyway, most of this stuff was inspired by the movie Home Alone. I've always thought that that kid could be like a younger version of Alex. So yeah, let me know.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Cherub or Alex Rider.**

* * *

Alex ran for all he was worth, once again extremely happy the SAS knew how to train people. If he wasn't so focused on not running into anything he'd have allowed himself to be much angrier than he currently was. Why James's mobile not on silent? How did the thing even have a signal down here anyway? This was exactly why kids shouldn't be spies. He knew he fit into the category of 'kid' but he'd been training for this job since he could walk. James, on the other hand, was a low-income kid who'd caught a government break.

Taking a sharp turn around a corner Alex quickly put his hand in his pocket and fumbled with the panic button before finding the flat, white button and mashing it down with his thumb. He hoped K-Unit wasn't so far away they couldn't help. They were staying in his house, it was the least they could do.

Alex turned another corner and realized he was lost. He'd been down in the basement a few times before but never alone and never this deep. He cursed the crazy man who'd designed this blasted maze. What he needed was a way out or better yet a weapon. James was still in the cabinet and knowing the Cherub he'd probably be found soon. Alex found himself hoping James's fighting prowess was all the Jones guy had made it out to be over a month ago.

The spy put on an extra burst of speed and rounded yet another corner. This corridor was lined with different rooms and Alex quickly picked a door as random closing it softly behind him. He turned to look at the room he was in, holding his mobile up so he could see by the light from the screen rather than turning on the light. It was another storage room filled with broken desks, filing cabinets, old gym equipment, the old trophy case, and the original floor-to-ceiling- lockers they'd replaced over twenty years ago. Brookland didn't believe in throwing anything away; Alex even spotted a box of confiscated items covered in dust and dirt in one corner. Alex heard the men who'd been chasing him curse at the sign of the empty corridor. One ran on ahead but the other two opened the first doors they came to.

The room Alex had chosen was farther down so he had a little time. Using the light from his mobile, Alex maneuvered around the room picking up various items, an idea already forming in his head. He quietly slipped into one of the lockers and pulled the door almost shut so the lock wouldn't click.

He waited only a few moments before the door opened, one of the men entered, and he turned on the light bathing everything in a harsh glow. The man walked slowly, but loudly, through the room and when he got to the row of lockers he began swinging the doors open. Some of them had been shut completely and were locked. Through the grate, Alex could see that the man was an easy target. He was fairly small and looked light weight. He wasn't a thug or a soldier, but some gangly eco-terrorist who needed some serious protein.

As the man drew closer Alex did his best to quiet his breathing. As he was reaching for the locker to the right of the one Alex was in the boy swung the door open. Hard. He heard a satisfying crunching sound as the eco-terrorist's nose broke and he screamed out in pain and fury. Alex quickly jumped out of the locker and blocked the blind punch aimed at his head before driving in knee into the man's stomach, completely winding him. Since the man was only slightly bigger than Alex himself, the spy was able to easily shove him into the locker he'd just vacated. He slammed the door shut, hearing the lock click into place. The man instantly started making as much noise as possible by banging his hands on the sides of the metal locker.

Alex ducked behind a pile of broken desks near the door and waited for the pounding footsteps to make their entrance. Two of the terrorists to originally give chase entered and immediately went to the locker to help their flailing comrade. Alex sneaked out form behind the desks and made his way to the door. He looked at the terrorists, gauging their distance and how much time it would take for them to reach him. He figured it would work. Alex slammed the door as he left purposefully making as much noise as he could.

He quickly bent down and dumped the bag of marbles he'd found on the floor, using his hands to keep them in relatively one place. He heard footsteps on the other side of the door and promptly took off. Alex was halfway down the corridor when the door was wrenched open. The terrorist, not looking down, stepped on the marbles only to go flying backwards and crashed into the other man. Cursing, the other man quickly regained his balance and jumped over the first man on the floor tearing after Alex.

Running sharply around the corner, Alex found, to his horror, that he was running in a circle, well, more of a 'T'. Another right and a left and he'd be back where he started. The good part was that he now knew where he was, the bad part was that he didn't have much room to work with before he ran into Evans again.

Alex looked wildly down the corridor as he ran and felt his luck turn when he spotted a blow torch. When the Science building had exploded the school had ordered new equipment. Almost everything had arrived before the building was completed, so it had all been stored down here. The blow torch must have been forgotten during the move. Snatching it up, Alex quickly opened a random door and slammed it shut behind him.

He turned on the flame and held it by the metal doorknob. He figured it would heat up quickly but not quickly enough for the terrorist to realize whet he was doing. The howl of pain from the other side confirmed his suspicions.

"What the hell is going on?" came Evans's shout and Alex moved to stand at the side of the door. Sure enough, the man touched the cooling metal and let out an intense amount of cursing before simply kicking the flimsy door, which easily swung open. Unfortunately for Evans, the room was dark, so he never saw Alex standing next to the door, pressed against the wall. He also never saw the butt of the metal container on the blow torch come flying out of the dark towards his temple. He only briefly felt it before he crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Alex stepped out of the room, running past the man on the floor, holding his badly burnt hand and whimpering. Alex rolled his eyes; apparently, veggie-eating, fur-cringing, eco-terrorists weren't that tough. Or rather, _these_ eco-terrorists weren't that tough, he corrected thinking of Force Three. He took off towards where James was hidden and straight into the man who'd tripped on the marbles.

The man pushed him roughly up against the wall and Alex hit the back of his head hard. The blow torch went flying out of his grip and Alex had to block yet another punch to his head. Where the first man had been skinny and weak, not a fighter in any sense, this man was well muscled and his fighting would have been more controlled had he not been so pissed. Alex guessed the man was a boxer.

Alex blocked blow after blow, only letting some get by and they only hit his torso. The man had given up on aiming for Alex's head, looking to cause more damage and pain by hitting his torso. The man was good but he certainly lacked the brilliance of the SAS fighters. It was like fighting a much less controlled, angrier version of Eagle. The ensuing anger over the marble trick left the man sloppy and gave Alex plenty of openings.

Alex was able to land several hard blows before landing a hard kick to man's groin. As he doubled over in pain, Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out a confiscated bottle of silly string. Aiming for the man's eyes, he sprayed the purple chemical liberally. The terrorist howled in pain and quickly brought his hands to his eyes, attempting to rub out the chemical but only really doing more damage. The chemicals in silly string would work like mace and he would probably have stinging and red eyes for at least a few hours.

Alex ran past him, taking a left and found himself in the corridor they'd started in. He dove for the cabinet and wrenched it open to find an apologetic looking Cherub.

"C'mon," Alex said simply and moved away to allow James to exit. Alex quickly moved to the door of the storage room the terrorists had originally been in and looked intently at everything as if trying to memorize it. He stood there for a few moments before he allowed James to pull him away.

They ran to the stairs in silence passing the still blinded man, the unconscious one, and the whimpering one. James looked at them curiously but didn't say anything. When they reached the main floor James instantly tore for the front door only pausing to collect his backpack by the potted plant they'd stuffed them behind. Alex paused twice more than the Cherub, first, to shut the basement so no teacher had an incentive to go down there and second, to grab the notice off the bulletin board and stuff it in his pocket.

As they reached the gate, Fox's car peeled around the corner, stopping in front of them with a squeal of the tires. They instantly climbed in, Alex in front and James in the back. Fox hit the gas at Alex's order to, "Drive." Only when they were a block away did Alex's adrenaline levels lower enough for him to speak. "You're late," he told Fox.

"We were cross town," Fox said. "I got here as soon as I could. What happened?"

"Why don't you ask James," Alex replied shooting a glare over his shoulder.

"Sorry," he said.

"What happened?" Fox asked. Alex shook his head and sighed. He couldn't believe that had just happened. If James's mobile hadn't gone off the terrorists would have never even known they were there.

"How did your mobile even get a signal down there?" he asked James suddenly remembering that impossibility. James looked a little embarrassed.

"Well, it was actually the alarm," he said.

"For what?" Alex asked, almost positive he wouldn't like the answer.

"Heh, well, there's a Playstation tournament today with all the Cherubs online," James explained and Alex felt his temper snap for the second time that day. At this rate he was going to need anger management classes.

"Wait, your mobile?" Fox asked. "What happened with your mobile?"

"James's mobile went off when we were three yards away from the Help Earth operatives," Alex informed him.

"What happened?" Fox asked his tone a little icy.

"I took care of it," Alex replied letting everyone in the car know that he was not discussing it here. The drive home was uncomfortable and silent.

* * *

Next Chapter: Alex is none too happy


	6. Fall Out!

Okay, so here's the next chapter. I tried to keep Alex as in character as possible but Horowitz doesn't give me many examples of his temper to work with so hopefully it isn't too off. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. Much love!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider or Cherub.**

* * *

Alex slammed open the door to the house ignoring the look he got from Jack as he entered the kitchen. He went to straight to the freezer and grabbed one of the icepacks they always kept on hand. Pressing it to the back of his skull, Alex stormed into the living room and collapsed onto the couch next to a confused looking Eagle.

"What's wrong with you?" Wolf asked from one of the armchairs; Snake had claimed the other one and the remote; Lauren was sitting at the desk using Jack's laptop. Alex didn't answer opting to glare at James as he, Fox, and Jack entered the room.

"C'mon Alex," James said clearly not fully understanding why Alex so mad. "It was an honest mistake."

"It was the stupidest, most amateur mistake I've ever seen," Alex snapped.

"What happened?" Snake asked directing his question more towards Fox than anyone. Fox simply shrugged in reply.

"I'll tell you what happened," Alex said angrily and K-Unit immediately turned their attention to him. "We were less than three yards away from the Help Earth operatives, listening in on a conversation, and James's mobile went off!" By the time Alex finished, he was so far foreword on the couch he might as well have been sitting on air and he was practically shouting.

"Why was your mobile on?" Wolf growled fixing the Cherub with an intense glare. Alex could see James getting increasingly nervous as even Eagle regained his soldier stature. Cold and silent.

"Go on, James," Alex pushed perhaps a little too mockingly. "Tell them why it went off." When James didn't answer, Fox did it for him having heard the answer in the car earlier.

"It was the alarm," he informed his teammates. "For a Playstation tournament with all the Cherubs online." Alex saw Lauren roll her eyes, Snake's eyes actually narrowed in anger, Jack looked impassive, not willing to interfere with a mission, and Eagle managed to stop Wolf from exploding on the spot by saying, "What did you do?" He was looking at James but he was asking Alex. Alex gave a small sigh to calm himself before replying.

"Put James in a cabinet, and then pulled a Kevin McCallister," he said and Jack snorted with laughter, recognizing the name instantly. Jack made Alex watch _Home Alone_ every year on Christmas but K-Unit didn't understand the American movie reference. Alex launched into a full explanation of what happened in the basement. Jack and Lauren were the only ones to show their amusement, K-Unit was too professional to laugh about it, and James was just plain too nervous.

"So, you didn't find the bomb shelter?" Lauren asked when he was done. Alex shook his head.

"No," James said. "And the bomb goes off tomorrow."

"Device," Alex corrected.

"Huh?" James said confused.

"They said device, not bomb," Alex told them. "And it happens at 12:45 during the assembly."

"What assembly?" Lauren asked. Alex dug into his pocket and threw the waded notice he'd taken to Wolf, who read it quickly and passed it to Snake.

"Anthony Caraway," Alex said finally leaning back, ice pack still pressed to the back of his head. "Billionaire chemist, owns several pharmaceutical companies, and has government contracts concerning the disposal of biohazardous waste."

"Why will he be at Brookland?" Lauren asked glancing at the notice over Eagle's shoulder.

"Caraway was a student at Brookland when he was a kid," Alex explained. "He heard about the school's financial problems and wants to make a donation. He's making a speech to everyone about it tomorrow."

"Financial problems?" Eagle asked latching on to probably the least significant detail of the entire mission. Alex explained the situation anyway, mostly because it was his fault.

"The school had to scrounge to pull enough money together for the renovations," he started. "Building a new science building put it in debt. The art and music department's funding were cut and the math and social studies departments need new textbooks and teachers. Caraway's donation is a big deal to the school."

"You keep mentioning a 'new' science building," Fox pointed out.

"Yeah, what happened to the old one?" Snake asked. Alex shared a glance with Jack before answering.

"Blew up," he said quickly. "That's not the point. Help Earth is planning something to go down during Caraway's speech and we have no idea what."

"Wait a sec," James said. "If this donation is such a big deal, why didn't they announce it?"

"They did," Alex said pointing to the notice Eagle was holding.

"That's not an announcement," Lauren said.

"It is for Brookland," Alex replied.

"What do you mean?" James asked and Alex heaved a frustrated sigh.

"You don't know anything about Brookland, do you?" he asked.

"We were briefed about it," Lauren said.

"Not very well," Alex snapped. "The PA system is busted." He grabbed the paper from Eagle and held it up. "This is the announcements, which was why I stopped at the bulletin board before the search. You probably would have noticed it too, if you would do your job!" It was the first time Alex had referred to the Cherubs in any professional sense but his mocking tone negated any compliment there might have been otherwise.

"I am doing my job, Alex!" James snapped at him, temper flaring.

"No, you're not!" Alex exclaimed standing up and throwing both the paper and the icepack on the coffee table in front of him. "You're a little kid playing a dangerous game."

"I know the risks," James hissed and Alex couldn't help but laugh at him.

"You think you know the risks," Alex told him. "You have no idea what you're doing. You're a human listening device with a glorified track record."

"And what makes you think you have anymore ability than me?" James said angrily.

"Because I do!" Alex shouted, arms flinging over his head to emphasize his anger. "You think I get an Ethics Committee?! You think I get benefits or the chance to back out?! I'm lucky they decide to patch me up at all!" Alex was beyond angry now; he was furious but whether it was at James, the Cherub organization in general, or at MI6, it was hard to tell.

"What are you talking about?" James asked, his own anger subsiding somewhat with his mounting confusion.

"What am I talking about?" Alex repeated before letting out a humorless laugh. "I'm talking about the fact that I've read your files and I know how Cherub organization works. While you're trying to take down the local drug lord, I'm on a suicide run to stop a Russian maniac from causing a nuclear holocaust. I'm talking about how your temper and inexperience almost got us killed! You're not bullet proof James!"

"I know that!" James replied hotly. "I'm not stupid and stop being such a martyr Alex."

"He's not being a martyr," Jack said quietly. All eyes turned to her. "He's telling the truth." K-Unit remained silent not entirely sure where this would go and wanting to see if Alex would continue about his missions; they were curious and Alex had a tendency to change the subject. Lauren was too shocked by Alex's sudden anger to make more than a squeak.

"It's not like he's the only one to have tough missions," James said. "Besides, MI6 won't let us see his file. He could be a complete screw up for all we know. I heard the last official training he got was months ago; Cherubs train constantly."

"Let me tell you a little something James," Alex said crossing the room to stand in front of the other boy. "I've been training for this job since I could walk. And do you honestly think MI6 is just gonna hand you the file of one of their best kept secrets? You really think they're going to give you details on my missions? The stuff in my file is highly classified state secrets. Things K-Unit will never have the clearance to see; stuff I doubt the Cherub director has clearance to see. When they send me somewhere, it's because there are no other options; when they send you somewhere, it's to make their jobs easier. Face it James, you're not a high ranking agent to MI6, you're low rank MI5 grunt who can't do his job. You're nobody to them and no matter what you think, you're nowhere near my level." Alex should have expected the fist that collided with his jaw a half second later. James was furious; Alex knew all about the Cherub's temper, having read about it in his file a month prior. The MI6 spy had baited him with his small speech but he couldn't help it; James thought he was tougher and higher ranking then he really was. James wasn't built like Alex; he wasn't a Rider. A family of spies. It was in Alex's blood to do what he did and to do it as well as he did. It was James's only semi-good option to do what he did.

The punch had some power to it, even Alex could admit that. James was pretty strong for a fourteen-year-old but Alex was used to stronger. James's punch only forced Alex to turn his head. Alex, reacting purely on instinct, threw a punch back, catching James square in the jaw. His hit had far more force to it as he was used to fighting full-grown, well-trained men like K-Unit. Alex's punch sent James to the floor.

"Alex!" Jack screamed hoping to keep the boy from doing the damage she knew he could do. Lauren instantly went to James's side and Alex felt strong hands on his arms, pulling him away.

"Cub, stop it," Eagle said firmly, spinning the boy around to look him in the eye, and giving him a small shake. "It's not worth it."

"Not worth it?" Alex repeated. He shook Eagle's grip off and backed up a few steps towards James, who was getting up off the floor. Alex turned to face him and said, "You need to learn that the Cherubs aren't as good as you think they are. Your head's in the clouds James. I won't let your mistakes put my school in danger. I'm calling Blunt to have you pulled off this mission." James's eyes flashed and Snake put out an arm to keep him from charging at Alex. Wolf also put a restraining hand on Alex's shoulder to keep him from doing anything as well. The room's atmosphere was tense and Jack looked scared that a fight between trained fighters was going to break out in her living room.

"You don't have the authority, Alex," James hissed. "This is a Cherub mission and you're only listed as a consultant. I'm the agent on point for this mission, not you." Alex stared at him hard trying to see if he was telling the truth. MI6 hadn't said anything about this.

"Yeah, and you've done such a fine job so far," Alex said sarcastically.

"I know what I'm doing," James assured him and Alex looked at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"Have you completely forgotten what happened an hour ago?" he asked. "Hell, do you remember this morning?"

"What happened this morning?" Wolf asked. The soldier's tone was hard and cold as if he was going into battle.

"Why don't you tell them? James Starbright," Alex said then heard Jack gasp.

"You used my name?!" she shouted.

"Hey, I don't come up with the covers," James defended.

"Yeah, we've noticed you do very little," Alex said a little harshly.

"Shut up Alex!" Lauren snapped. "We get your point, you don't have to be rude about it."

"No," Alex said shaking off Wolf's hand. "I don't think you do get my point." He looked at James, a blank expression on his face, "You think you handle this mission James? Fine," he said and started backing up towards the stairs. "I quit. I'm no longer you're consultant." With that Alex turned and walked up the stairs.

* * *

He was in his room for less than a minute when Wolf and Eagle, disregarding the closed door and all manners, walked in. Alex immediately tensed; he'd never liked having people he didn't know all that well in his room.

"What the hell, Cub?" Wolf said looking downright angry. "You can't just quit the mission!" Alex laughed, which only got him the infamous glare.

"Did you listen to a word I said? I didn't quit the mission. I quit my consulting job," Alex said. "You really think I'm gonna leave the lives of everyone in Brooklandin James's hands? Please, give me a little credit." Eagle shook his head at him and Wolf remained silent not sure how to respond.

"So, you two are going to do this separately?" Eagle asked.

"No, I'm going to do this and try to keep the Cherubs alive in the process. They're going to do, whatever it is they do," Alex responded.

"Great," Eagle sighed.

"Do you have any idea what Help Earth is planning?" Wolf asked him.

"It's not a bomb," Alex said instantly. "It's something else. When we read the Cherub's files a month ago, it mentioned that on James's first mission Help Earth was planning on releasing anthrax in a hotel ventilation system. They like to use a person's own 'crimes' against them. Caraway doesn't make bombs or any kind of weapons. He's works with chemicals. It'll be something along those lines."

"Yeah, maybe," Wolf said thinking it all over carefully.

"Maybe it's a vat of toxic chemicals," Eagle said dead serious. "And they're gonna dump it on him."

"This isn't a cartoon Eagle," Wolf said exasperated with his teammate. Alex gave a small smile as the two started to bicker. He knew he could stop this attack by himself; K-Unit was his back up and Help Earth weren't that though to figure out. It had been twenty-hours since he'd first been briefed and Alex already had a time, a motive, and a target. Figuring out the how wouldn't be too difficult.

The fact that it was his school made it increasingly harder but, despite today's Cherub-sized setbacks, Alex did have a plan. All he had to do was maneuver everyone to the right spot which, again, wouldn't be hard. He could easily convince K-Unit to follow his lead, as they'd mostly been doing anyway; the Cherubs would be easy to manipulate, he couldn't outright tell them what to do as they would resist him at every turn; Help Earth would just have to do what he already knew they planning to do for everything to work.

It had taken Alex the ride home to figure out how to evacuate the school, keep the Help Earth operatives on site, figure out where the entrance to the bomb shelter was, and pinpoint the most likely places this 'device' was going to be. Help Earth's plan wasn't that hard; he'd more or less figured it out after he'd been able to figure out where the shelter was. That, combined with the knowledge of Brookland he'd gathered simply by being a student there for years made the plan come into focus easily. He wished all his missions were this easy.

* * *

If you don't know what Home Alone is, wikipedia is there for you! Speaking of movies, I was watching Alex Rider the other day and was anyone else a little freaked about the random Bear character in K-Unit? What the hell? Where's Snake?!

Next Chapter: The Cherubs get a dose of super-spy reality! Alex's plan is reviled! It's gonna be good!


	7. Desparate

Okay, this didn't turn out exactly as I predicted but whatever. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own ALex Rider or Cherub**

* * *

"You know what to do?"

"Yes, Cub, we got it," Snake said sounding a little annoyed. Alex couldn't really blame him; he'd asked that same question about four times now.

"Sorry, but it's kinda important," he said.

"We know," Wolf growled, his tone telling the teenage spy to drop it. So far Alex's plan was going well. He'd gotten up extra early that morning with K-Unit to finalize everything, which included a teleconference with Jones and Blunt, as well as the Director of Cherub. Alex hadn't expected any major glitches in his plan (the Cherubs were being kept out of the loop) but the possibility of anything going wrong had him on edge.

The five of them were sitting in Fox's car across the street from the school waiting for eleven-thirty to roll around. Alex had, had Jack call him in that morning so wouldn't have to worry about classes.

"It's time," Eagle said suddenly, getting out of the back to let Alex out of the car. The boy quickly crossed the street and made his way into the main building, ducking under the main office's window to avoid being noticed, and went straight to the basement door. He opened it quietly then slipped onto the staircase, closing the door behind him. Alex dug into his pocket to retrieve one of the miniaturized cameras he'd gotten from Eagle that morning. He placed one at the top of the stairs and turned it on.

"It's good," he heard Fox tell him through the small, almost invisible earpiece he was wearing. Getting conformation Alex made his way back towards the storage room the terrorists had been in the day before, placing various cameras on his way. Hearing voices, Alex placed his last camera just around the corner of the corridor leading to the storage room before leaving as quietly and as quickly as he'd come.

When he got out of the basement he went straight across to the door opposite the basement door and slipped inside, turning on the lights. It didn't matter that they were on, nobody would notice and if they did they wouldn't think anything of it. Alex was in the control room for all of the school's systems. Everything had been computerized during the renovations making his job all the more easier.

He sat down at the computer console and easily gained access to the files he needed. After he was done he made sure everything was in the exact place he'd found it before he exited and made his way back outside.

"We're good," he told K-Unit through the wire he was wearing.

"Good, everything's almost ready," Wolf replied and Alex couldn't help but give a small smile. Once again, he wished all his missions were this easy.

* * *

As Alex was making his way to the obscure side door on the south side of the main building he, literally, bumped into Lauren. She jumped back immediately, body tense, before recognizing him and exclaiming, "Alex! We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Oh?" he said lifting an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, come with me," she instructed and he followed her to the door he'd been headed for in the first place. They entered the short corridor on the other side and Alex was surprised to find James there. The corridor was rarely used, as the door they'd just come through was the only thing down there. Most students never knew it was there, which was way Alex had chosen to wait there for the next stage of the plan to take affect. It was close to the auditorium and there were no security cameras, which meant no questions.

Alex gazed curiously at James who appeared rather tense.

"Found him," Lauren said and James's head snapped up at them.

"Where have you been?" James asked sounding highly exasperated.

"With K-Unit," Alex replied.

"All morning?" Lauren asked.

"What's going on?" Alex asked wondering why the two Cherubs seemed so tense.

"Evans has been walking around the school," Lauren said. "Going back and forth between the basement and the auditorium."

"Yeah, so?" Alex replied. "That's to be expected."

"Well, there's a slight problem with that," Lauren said and James shifted from foot to foot.

"Like what?" Alex asked.

"Evans kinda knows me," James said. "We met on my last mission."

"The cult terrorist one?" Alex asked. James nodded his head. "Does he know about your job?" James shook his head. "Then just stay out of sight."

"It's not that simple," Lauren said.

"And why not?"

"The attack," James said simply.

"It supposed to go down in forty-five minutes," Lauren continued.

"I'm aware," Alex said. "What's the problem?" The two siblings glanced at each other before Lauren answered, her words spilling out of her mouth incredibly fast.

"Well, we reported what we knew to Cherub last night but the Director wasn't able to get back to us until this morning after you'd already left," she started. "Apparently, MI5 has transferred the case over to MI6 on the request of the heads of Special Ops. Since Cherub is no longer the organization on point, all of our orders come from Blunt."

"Okay, what's your point?" Alex said not showing any reaction to what she'd just said. He'd been the one to request the transfer that morning and Blunt had done the heavy lifting on the deal. The Cherub Director hadn't been pleased with it, but after some heavy persuasion, and a report on James's blunders the day before, the woman had relented.

"Blunt is refusing to give us any kind of backup," Lauren practically whined. "He said events were already in motion and all we had to do was find you."

"Right," Alex said simply. He was waiting for a specific statement and since James couldn't bring himself to say it, Lauren did.

"We don't know what to do," she said. "MI6 won't give us any back up or information. The attack is going to happen really soon and there's no plan to stop it. We can't blow our covers and since Evans knows James from another mission he can't openly do anything. We have no idea where the bomb shelter is or what Help Earth is planning."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Alex said and James's temper flared almost immediately.

"And why is that?" he growled. Alex, being far too used to Wolf's growl, had to stop himself from laughing at the attempt to sound scary.

"We've been keeping you out of the loop," Alex replied and watched the shock pass over both of the Cherubs' faces.

"Why?" Lauren demanded angrily.

"Because I needed you out of the way," Alex said arms crossed. "After last afternoon, I couldn't openly tell you to back down because you wouldn't have listened." The last part was said more to James than to Lauren.

"So you just decided to leave us hanging?" Lauren exclaimed her temper finally flaring as well. Alex could see that while she had more control over her anger, it was just as bad as James's.

"No," Alex said harshly. "We didn't leave you hanging. You didn't have the influence or the skill I needed to get the ball rolling on this. It was easier and quieter to just not tell you."

"So you've been letting us think that nothing was being done?!" James asked hotly.

"I haven't been letting you think anything," Alex replied. "You automatically assumed that since you weren't being told everything, that nothing was being done. Blunt told you to come find me, which should have been enough of a tip off."

"Tip off to what?" Lauren asked.

"That something was being planned," Alex said. "Did you really think the government would knowingly allow a terrorist attack on a school to happen? They get their brownie points with the public for stopping stuff like that."

"Well, nobody was telling us anything," James said with a huff.

"Yes, welcome to the world of politics," Alex said with a small smile.

"What are you talking about?" Lauren asked.

"The government rarely tells the full truth to anyone," Alex said not able to stop his tone taking on a sarcastic sound. "You may be spies, kind of, but that doesn't mean you're entitled to know things."

"But this applies to us," Lauren protested. "We should have been told about the plan."

"Not really," Alex said leaning up against the wall. "Like I said before, I didn't want you in my way."

"Wait a minute," James said finally catching on to something. "_You_ set this up?"

"I did," Alex replied. "I was the one who requested the case be transferred to MI6 and it was my decision to shut you out of it."

"Why?" Lauren asked again.

"After yesterday I couldn't trust your ability to do it right," Alex said but it came out much meaner than he'd expected it to.

"See, there you go again," James said hotly, jabbing a finger in Alex's direction. "You think you're such hot shit, don't you Alex? We aren't invalids!"

"James, stop it," Lauren snapped and both boys looked at her with surprise. "Alex has a point."

"What do you mean?" James asked sounding a little hurt. Lauren rolled her eyes at him.

"Please, James," she sighed. "Like you could ever pull something like that off. Alex is right; we don't have that kind of influence."

"I had you shut out for a reason," Alex continued. "You guys are fairly decent at your job but not at mine. This wasn't the toughest mission but it did require more experience than you have. You two came here completely unprepared and whatever briefing you had, you obviously didn't retain. Cherub has gone up against Help Earth a few times but so far your organization has been unable to shut them down or even cripple them. I was given the details of your last mission; you saved the lives of four innocent children and yourselves. While that's all very good, you didn't even try to diffuse the situation you'd found yourselves in."

"You shut us out because some crazies blew themselves up?" James asked missing Alex's point completely.

"No," Alex replied his voice calm. "I shut you out because you didn't have the skills I needed for this bust. Like I said yesterday, you're a human listening device and nothing more. I needed a little more. Most of the work on this mission has fallen to me; I'm sorry, but you guys just aren't as good as people keep telling you."

"So, what do we do?" Lauren asked. She seemed to have gotten what he was trying to say. He hadn't left them out of the loop because of some kind of power play. He was trying to keep them out of the line of fire. Blunt had been ready to pull them out completely; Alex had been able to convince his boss that the Cherubs still had a place on this mission.

"All I need you to do for now," he told her. "Is to wait here until I get the go ahead for the next part of the plan."

"Can you tell us what's happening?" Lauren asked and Alex shook his head.

"Not entirely," he said.

"Why not?" James asked exasperated that, for the first time in his career, no one was fully telling him what was happening on a mission.

"Because you don't need to know," he replied.

"Oh, come on," James exclaimed. "First you tell us we don't know what we're doing, and then, when we turn into your subordinates you won't tell us shit. Why?"

"Because the decision to keep you out of the loop still stands," Alex told him.

"Is it that dangerous?" Lauren asked him.

"Actually, it's fairly simple, and it's quiet," Alex said. "Had this been left up to you, we'd probably have soldiers all over the place."

"And that's bad, because?" James asked mockingly.

"Because this situation is a lot more delicate than you think," Alex said.

"How so?" Lauren asked.

"Caraway is high profile," Alex started. "Brookland needs his money and the press is here to cover the donation. A mass herd of SAS soldiers would cause a panic. The school would end up on the news, Caraway's businesses would be thrown into the spotlight, and we could potentially put an even bigger target on his back than before. I was given some of the nastier details about Caraway's biohazardous waste plants and let's just say the government does not want certain details to get out about this guy. An influx of coverage in the media could tear down several high powered politicians, who haven't done anything illegal, but would fall under moral persecution."

"What's so bad about this guy?" Lauren asked a little shocked at the amount of information Alex knew.

"Sorry, but that's classified," Alex said. "All you need to know, is that this has to be handled quietly. Nobody can know but those directly involved. MI6 wants this to disappear and that's what's going to happen. No press stories, no high profile arrests, no government brownie points. Understand?" Lauren and even James nodded their heads looking a little flabbergasted.

"We've never really done anything that top secret," James admitted.

"I know," Alex replied. "Now do you get why you were shut out?"

"Yeah, I get it," James said then they all fell silent. At exactly twelve-thirteen, two minutes before the students were supposed to report to the auditorium, Wolf came back on to their comm link.

"We're good to go, Cub," he said. "Sound the alarm."

"It's show time," Alex said out loud and the Cherubs looked at him. He reached out and pulled the fire alarm.

* * *

Next Chapter: Alex's plan fully explained.


	8. Fire Alarm

Hey everybody! This chapter is a little longer than noraml but I'm sure you don't mind. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. My other stories will all be updated soon. I'll have some time to write next week, so check then. I'm like half way through the second chapter of Parental Unit so that's good. Also, I am planning on wirting that whole Laser Quest scene that was talked about at the end of One Strange Day so look for that. It'll be fun! Um, yeah that's about it. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Cherub or Alex Rider**

* * *

Alex kept the two Cherubs in the corridor for two minutes before leading them through the exit and back to the front of school to blend in with the crowd of talking, texting, and evacuating students. The three ended up in the main parking lot with a perfect view of the main entrance to the school. Students began to chatter excitedly as a fire truck pulled onto the grounds a minute later, lights flashing.

"Is there a fire?" someone asked.

"I don't see any smoke," another kid said.

"Someone probably pulled the alarm," said a third.

As the truck got closer, Lauren gasped, immediately recognizing some of the firemen on the truck. Four, to be exact.

"Is that K-Unit?" she whispered to Alex and he nodded back with a smile.

"Seriously, Alex," James said trying to keep his annoyance at being 'out of the loop,' out of his voice. "What the hell is going on?"

"The most creative bust of your not very stellar career," Alex replied, his voice light. He turned back towards the school and watched as K-Unit and three other men entered the building with what could have been fire fighting gear, but Alex knew for a fact it was their guns plus another few necessary items. Guns in a school, Jack would flip.

The Cherubs didn't question Alex about what was going on as they'd finally gotten the hint that he wouldn't tell them anything. Although, they were close to figuring it out on their own.

"He pulled the alarm to evacuate the students," Lauren told James.

"So that they could get in without any casualties," James continued. "But how did the people in basement not know what was going on?" The two kept their voices low so no one would hear them but Alex, and the MI6 spy couldn't help but smirk at them. The Cherubs were smart, inexperienced, but not entirely dumb. It didn't shock him that they figured some of it out but it honestly wasn't that hard to piece together.

Tom managed to find the three of them and came over with a mischievous smile on his face. Lauren looked at him curiously and James looked a little wary. Alex had no idea why; Tom wasn't scary.

"Nice trick, Al," Tom said.

"Wait, he knows what's going on?" James practically blew up on the spot. Alex gave a little laugh at the Cherub's incessant anger; he really needed to work on that if he was going to get anywhere in this business.

"Who are you?" Lauren asked, not wanting to be left out of this loop.

"I'm Tom," the black boy told her. "Alex's friend since, like, the sandbox days."

"Tom, you wanted to play in the sandbox at the park just last week," Alex reminded him.

"Did not," Tom said but without any bite. "Who are you?" he asked Lauren but Alex answered first.

"She's James's sister, Lauren," he said then lowered his voice so only the four of could possibly hear it, as they were in a pretty closed circle now. "She's another agent." Lauren took the whole blown cover thing much better than James. She smiled at Tom and shook the boy's offered hand, taking everything in stride. _Almost like a pro,_ Alex mused.

"So, does he know what's going on or not?" James interjected the small moment of relative peace.

"I didn't tell him," Alex said. "Although, I'm sure he's figured it out."

"How?" Lauren asked.

"I've known Alex for years," Tom said. "I know his tricks."

"What do you mean?" Lauren asked confused while James crossed his arms in what would had been a threatening manner had Wolf been the one to do it.

"Another mini-Bond shows up out of the blue, with Jack's surname, to do something involving Alex and the school. I'm not blind; Al more or less told me something was happening and with the big-shot science dude here today, it's obviously got something to do with him." By the Tom finished his short explanation the Cherubs had that dumbfounded look on their face that Alex was beginning to grow accustomed to. Tom was, by no means, someone who would make a good spy but he knew more about this school than Alex did. Tom's family had been going to Brookland since about three years after it had been built. When they had been little, Tom's great-grandfather would tell them stories about the crazy Headmaster who'd hidden the bomb shelter. The man had known so much about the school, and the Headmaster himself, and Alex was sure that some stories he'd never heard had been passed down through the Harris family. It wouldn't surprise Alex if Tom, or, at the very least, Tom's father, already knew the location of the bomb shelter.

"Do you know where the bomb shelter is?" Alex asked Tom suddenly, interrupting whatever James was saying, much to the Cherub's annoyance.

"Yes," Tom replied simply.

"Basement, entrance at the back of a store room, on the wall where the bricks are all lined up perfectly?" Alex rattled off the location quickly to his friend, who nodded with a smile.

"Yup," he said. Both of them were ignoring the other two who still looked somewhat shocked. "Never been in there though. I hate the basement; it's creepy, besides I didn't have the key."

"Key?" James asked a bewildered look on his face. It was difficult to tell what he was more confused at: Tom knowing the bomb shelter location, Alex apparently knowing Tom would know, the plan Alex had set in motion, or the entire situation in general.

"Yeah," Tom told him. "The crazy man who built the place had, like, this special key so only he could open the door. Nobody's seen the thing since they carted him off though."

"What's Marcy's last name?" Alex asked suddenly.

"Donahue," Tom told him and Alex let out a groan.

"As in, Tobias Donahue?" Alex asked wondering how he'd never seen this before now. Honestly, he was supposed to be able to figure these things out at the drop of a hat but he guessed it was because it had never been important.

"Oh," Tom exclaimed, figuring it out as well. Alex turned back to the Cherubs to answer the question he knew he'd get from them.

"Marcy was the Headmaster's niece," he told them. "Tobias Donahue is the name of the old Headmaster. She must have gotten the key from him when they took him away. Help Earth would have known that with a simple family tree. They killed her for that key."

"But K-Unit couldn't tell if it was foul play," Lauren said.

"That's why we need an autopsy," Alex said. "Some times it isn't obvious."

"There goes the fire guys," Tom said and Alex glanced over his shoulder. The truck was indeed pulling out and the students were trickling back in. Tom went in with the other students but James, Lauren, and Alex snuck back out towards the main road. Alex led them down the block and around a corner. He got into the front seat of Fox's car and the Cherubs climbed in the back.

"Well?" he asked. Fox gave him a grin.

"We got 'em," he said and pulled away from the curb.

* * *

Alex, Fox, and the Cherubs met the rest of K-Unit in Blunt's office thirty minutes later. A man Alex had never met was sitting in one of the two chairs with Wolf sitting in the other. He figured the man was from Cherub when he saw him give the two other kids nods in greeting. They returned them before going to stand by the window. The rest of K-Unit was standing by Wolf and Alex joined them. Blunt, as usual, was the first to speak.

"Alex, this is Ewart Asker," he said nodding at the man in the other chair. "He is a mission controller with Cherub."

"Alex," the man said in greeting and Alex gave him a nod. "Good work."

"Wasn't that hard," Alex said. "It's only been like, what? Two days?" Ewart gave a small smile at him and turned back to Blunt.

"So, are you ever going to tell me how you had them removed from the school?" Ewart asked and Alex saw James stand up a little taller hoping for an answer.

"It was Alex's plan," Blunt said. "I'm sure he could tell you." He felt all eyes on him and with a nod from Jones and Blunt that it was okay to tell them now, he started.

"Well, first I went in and placed cameras down the corridors leading to the location of the shelter so that K-Unit would know who was where," he said. "Then I slipped into the school's computer system control room and hacked the fire alarm system, cutting off the alarms in the basement so that they wouldn't hear, and I also cut off the signal going to the fire department. James and Lauren found me right after that, like Blunt had told them too. I didn't want them in their classes when the alarm went off. I pulled one of the alarms in a corridor that has no security cameras and we exited with the rest of the students. With the school empty and the Help Earth operatives still in the bomb shelter preparing, K-Unit and three Special Operative agents entered the building dressed as firemen, and subdued the terrorists in the basement. They snuck them out, also dressed as firemen just in case anyone was looking, and took them here."

"Eagle also took the device they were planning on setting off," Wolf said when Alex finished.

"What was it?" Ewart asked.

"A chemical bomb," Wolf replied confirming Alex's already strong suspicion that Help Earth was going to use something related to Caraway specifically. "We don't know what was in it but they were only just getting ready to charge it when we busted in."

"Where are the Help Earth operatives now?" Ewart asked.

"In our holding facilities," Blunt said and Alex just barely repressed a shutter. He hated that bright, white cell with a deep seated passion. "We will transfer them over to MI5 when we're done." Ewart didn't argue but Alex couldn't tell if it was because he was just outranked or if he really didn't care.

"Why didn't you want us in class when the fire alarm went off?" Lauren asked Alex from her spot by the window.

"I didn't want you to take it as an opportunity to sneak down to the basement and try to stop it yourselves," Alex said.

"Why would we do that?" James asked.

"It's something I probably would have done," Alex replied then looked away.

"Why not just let Blunt pull them out completely like he wanted to?" Ewart asked.

"They needed to see it," Alex said vaguely. He was trying to tell the Cherubs something; his first few attempts had not worked so well. James had ended up on the floor and Alex had seemingly walked off a mission. The Cherubs would be leaving soon, tomorrow morning at the latest. He may not like them or even really respect them, but he didn't want them dead. Having the Cherubs see that they weren't the big-shot, high-ranking, state secrets that they thought they were was the only reason Alex had insisted they stick around a little longer. For all their training, and all the boasting their organization had done on their behalf, Tom had come closer to figuring out what had been going on in the last two days than they had.

The Cherubs had met everything that had happened over the last two days with confusion, anger, and ineptitude. James and Lauren had missed details about the mission that had proved vital. The history of the school, the fact that Brookland was broke, how the water pipes had been replaced and some had been left behind, how the PA system no longer worked, and most importantly, how nothing should be overlooked. The mission itself was not hard, and had the Cherubs had maybe month or so, Alex was sure they'd have figured it all out on their own. But the truth was, they hadn't had a month and if Alex had not been in on this from the start, everyone in Brookland would have been poisoned by now. Even if they weren't students, the Cherubs should have been able to their job much better than this.

"Where's Caraway?" James asked cutting into Alex's thoughts. The conversation had gone around him while he'd been thing about the Cherubs.

"He evacuated with the rest of the school and continued his speech as planned," Jones said.

"You didn't take him somewhere?" Lauren asked sounding a little shocked. "What if somebody slipped past K-Unit and managed to kill him another way?"

"All the operatives Alex saw and fought yesterday were in the bomb shelter," Jones told her, and that was that. Alex knew MI6 had placed people inside the school in disguise as the press to make sure nothing would happen.

"The donation was important," Alex said, once again feeling a little guilty for all the trouble he caused for Brookland. "The debt was approaching critical and since it's a private school the state could only help finance so much. Brookland wasn't going to lower its standards and it put the school at risk of closing permanently. Caraway's donation changed that."

"It's just a school," James scoffed.

"It's _my_ school," Alex said defensively. "It's survived a lot in the eighty years it's been around. World War II, gangs fights, riots, terrorist threats, exploding science buildings, greedy fat cats. There's a lot of history to that place and had it been closed, it would've been turned into shopping mall."

"You don't know that," Lauren said. "If Caraway had been killed it would have made everything worse."

"True," Alex acknowledged. "But a buyer already asked the alumni to sell and that was his plan for the place. Marcy died because of that damn key but I'd bet everything I own that she'd never have just given it to them. Even with her life at stake."

"Why?" Ewart asked. "What's so special about this school?"

"Like I said, there's a lot of history to this school. That bomb shelter was rumored to not have even been a bomb shelter at all."

"What are do you mean?" Wolf asked roughly. Blunt and Jones had fallen silent for this part of the conversation but they did look faintly interested. "You've been calling it a bomb shelter for the past two days!"

"There was a theory that Headmaster Donahue, the man who built the shelter, had somehow come across very sensitive information during his tour in Germany. Apparently, the shelter was built to house whatever it was he found and that the government wanted it so bad they discredited him as insane and carted him off. He passed the key to his niece Marcy, whose kept the secret ever since."

"Does anyone know what was in the shelter?" Ewart asked.

"Nothing," Eagle said. "It was just the terrorists and that device. Besides, does it really matter?"

"Depends on what he found," Blunt said and Alex would have rolled his eyes but he had too much of a professional sense to do that. Stolen sate secrets; that was all Blunt took away from that.

"It'd be a little old now to matter though wouldn't it?" Alex asked.

"Depends on what was found," Blunt repeated. "But for now it's just an interesting story."

"Seems like that these last few days have made for one interesting story," Ewart said.

"Indeed," Blunt replied glancing at the Cherubs. "Although, I must ask that your agents go through some more extensive training."

"The training is fine, Mr. Blunt," Ewart said defensively and Alex was strongly reminded of the scene form a month ago.

"Are we done?" he interjected.

"Go see Mr. Crawley," Jones told him. "He will debrief you all of you more extensively." K-Unit, the Cherubs, and Alex all left the office and Alex wondered how much Blunt knew about the many legends Brookland had. He hadn't liked the man's wording. Had Help Earth found something done there? If the theory was true, what had cost Donahue his reputation and Marcy her life? He guessed Blunt was right and it all depended on what was found.

* * *

Next Chapter: The conclusion


	9. Time to Leave

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider**

* * *

The next day K-Unit and the Cherubs prepared to leave. In the short time they'd been there they had managed to spread everything everywhere. Jack and Alex helped them find whatever it was they'd lost. Jack had practically thrown a tantrum when she found Snake's gun in the bathroom. He apologized profusely as she lectured him about gun safety and threatened to make another gun-cicle if he didn't pay attention to where he left his weapons. Alex had cracked up over the whole argument while the rest of K-Unit looked on in open shock to Jack's temper. Apparently, it was worse than Wolf's.

Helping the Cherubs to pack was mostly unnecessary, though Jack did feel the need to do their laundry so they wouldn't have to do it later. Alex was sitting in front of the TV on the couch when Lauren came and joined him. They were the only people in the room, which in retrospect was something Lauren had been banking on.

"You're really good," she said.

"I had good training," he replied.

"What kind of training?" she asked sounding genuinely interested.

"SAS," he said simply glancing over at her, wondering where this was going.

"Details?" she requested and Alex shook his head changing the channel.

"Classified," he said.

"Oh," she said simply and Alex could tell she was on the verge of saying something else. "You know Cherub training is considered to be incredibly tough but I don't think it's anywhere near SAS. A lot of kids have to do it three or four times before actually passing." Alex took a moment to mute the TV so that they could talk a little better.

"It's not just the training," he said. "Although, that is a huge part of it. But it's also the person and you guys have the training but you don't have what it takes. Get it?"

"I think," she said glancing at the stairs. "James has always been a bit of a screw up. It's why he accepted Cherub's offer. He'd be in jail now if it wasn't for them and we'd still be separated."

"I know," Alex replied emotionlessly. He figured Lauren hadn't said it to gain any pity but just as a simple fact. "I've read your files."

"Why would they give you our files?" she asked. Alex shifted a little bit trying to think of an answer that wouldn't potentially piss anyone off.

"I guess, all things considered, I have more clearance than you," he said putting it into terms he knew she'd understand.

"Yeah, I guess. If you were at Cherub they'd probably have to make up a new color just for you," she said sending him a smile which he returned. "Alex?" she continued after a few moments of silence.

"Yes?"

"What's it like?" Lauren asked sounding incredibly nervous.

"What?" he asked honestly having no idea what she was saying.

"To work with MI6," she said. "I know at Cherub, they treat us like agents but we're still kids and treated like it too. Sometimes it's a bit hard to act like the adults they want us to be but have them treat us like kids."

"I pretty much do what needs to be done," he said. "MI6 treats me as a tool. That's also something you Cherubs need to learn. They can preach about your safety and how the Ethics Committee keeps you safe, but if they were really concerned about you, you wouldn't be in this job at all. One of these days you'll run into a bad guy that's smarter than you thought and with a much bigger picture than you thought. You'll die if they catch you. In the end, you're no more than a tool, just like me."

"I guess," Lauren said. "What did you mean by nuclear holocaust?" Alex paused, remembering his blow up two days ago at James and how he'd said a little more than he should have. He should have expected the question.

"What do you think I mean?" he asked avoiding answering.

"I think you were telling the truth," she said instantly. "You really are much more experienced than us. It's why you cracked this so fast."

"Sure thing," he said and they turned to the TV when Alex took it off mute. James wandered in a few minutes later with both of their duffels.

"Well, this was probably the fastest mission I've ever been on," he said dumping the bags on the floor.

"Any longer and you'd probably be in the hospital," Alex told him jokingly and James actually stayed calm.

"You didn't hit me that hard," he said.

"James, you ended up on the floor," Alex reminded him.

"It just surprised me was all," he said lamely and Alex gave a small laugh.

"Whatever," he said. "You guys all packed?"

"Yup," Lauren said. "We're just waiting for our ride." Snake stormed in at that moment followed by Wolf and the two sank into the armchairs. Snake looked ready to blow but Wolf had uncharacteristic half-smile on his face.

"What is her problem?" Snake asked Alex.

"Who?"

"Jack," the soldier practically spat. "She won't back off about this gun thing. I'm a soldier, what does she expect?"

"Jack just doesn't like guns," Alex replied.

"Why?" Wolf asked. "I can understand the fear but she seems to outright hate them."

"Jack's seen a lot," Alex said vaguely. "You'll have to talk to her about it." He wouldn't talk about Jack's secrets with these men; if they wanted to know Jack would tell them. They just had to ask the right questions. Snake huffed in annoyance but accepted the answer and let it slide. Alex stood up and gestured for the two Cherubs to follow him out. He led them to Jack's room because he refused to have them in his. He sat down on the bed, Lauren following and James standing in front of them.

"You guys are going to be leaving," he said. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out two necklaces. They were in the shape of ying-yang symbol split in half. He tossed the black part to James and the white half to Lauren. "These were made by a friend of mine in MI6. When they're put together for more than ten seconds they'll send out a distress signal to my mobile. Only send for me if it's something MI5 as a whole can't seem to handle. I'm talking a real emergency, not the kind of mission we just did."

"Why would give these to us?" James asked completely bewildered.

"You're bound to come across something out of any Cherub's range eventually. When that happens you can ask for help. With these you can by-pass MI6 completely," Alex told them.

"Won't they be mad?" Lauren asked and Alex shrugged.

"I've done things on my own before," he said.

"But they could withhold missions," James said as if it was the worst thing that could ever happen.

"That would a miracle, not a punishment for me," Alex said. "I'm serious though. I don't like the two of you but I have no interest in seeing you die. I can't shut the Cherub organization down so this is next best thing."

"I still don't understand why you would want to help us in the future," James said.

"You have a vague idea of what I can do," Alex said. "If people are in trouble I'll help. I swear to god, though, if you call me in to help with some low-level terrorist you're gonna need some serious medical attention. Got it?" Both Cherubs nodded and slipped the necklaces around their necks. Alex frowned a little but they didn't notice. Honestly, these Cherubs were far too gullible.

* * *

When the Cherubs left the house Alex walked them out. James turned and shook his hand and Lauren gave him a quick hug.

"Good luck Alex," she said.

"You too," he said.

"Try not to be too much of a martyr," James joked and Alex gave him a small shove.

"Leave," he ordered and James laughed but slipped into the car without further conversation. When it pulled away Alex went back inside and made his way to the living room. Fox, Snake, and Wolf were all in there and Alex sat next to Fox on the couch.

"Well?" Wolf inquired.

"They took them," Alex told him.

"That was easy," Fox said.

"Cherubs really aren't all that smart," Alex said. "Besides, they expect us to be on their side."

"That's just sad," Fox said they all gave a small smile. The final piece of Alex's plan had just been implemented. Well, it was technically Blunt's idea and it was the only way he would allow the Cherubs to stay for Alex's 'lesson'. The two necklaces were tracking devices devised by Smithers. They were literally undetectable and their signals came through Special Operation's private satellite. Blunt wanted the location of Cherub headquarters; they knew MI6's location as well as Alex's, so in their eyes it was only fair.

It was Alex's job to get the two Cherubs to wear those necklaces back to campus. Since they were hardly friends, Alex had completely made up the story about the distress signal. When they were put together they wouldn't do anything. He felt a little weird for willingly helping Blunt in the man's power struggle with the Cherubs but what could he do? If not through him, then some other way, so why invoke Blunt's potential wrath in the process? Alex had his own problems to worry about and Blunt only wanted the location. He saw no problem with that.

He knew there was more than likely more to it but once again, he had his own problems to worry about. And he simply did not care what happened to the Cherubs. If they died, it would suck but he'd done everything in his power to get them to learn that weren't all that good and that they were putting themselves in danger. Lauren at least, had seemed to understand what he was saying. He hoped she would be all right.

"Well, we better head out," Wolf said standing up.

"Where's Eagle?" Snake asked just now noticing the absence of their loudest teammate.

"Where's Jack?" Alex asked. Wolf shrugged and they followed him out to the garage where Fox's car was. When Alex opened the door they got a highly disgusting scene of a snogging Jack and Eagle. The three soldiers immediately busted out laughing causing the two adults to split apart.

"Gross," Alex exclaimed and Jack gave him a pointed look.

"Shut up, Alex," she said. Eagle looked faintly embarrassed but Jack looked as confident as ever.

"If you're done, we're leaving," Wolf said sternly regaining his soldier composure.

"Okay," Eagle said. The four soldiers said their stiff good-byes, threw their bags in the trunk, and climbed in. When they left Jack smacked Alex upside the head.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"I really like him," she said.

"Well, I don't," he said.

"Well, you aren't the one with the date, so play nice," she said.

"Date?" Alex asked uncertainly.

"Yes, Andy and I have a date next Saturday," she said getting a rather goofy look on her face.

"Andy?" Alex asked incredibly close to laughing. Jack rolled her eyes and went back inside. Needless to say, Alex bugged her for the rest of the day inquiring about the date, how she'd weaseled out Eagle's real name, and if Eagle was going to become a permanent fixture. It was all in good fun and he enjoyed Jack's increasing annoyance. It wasn't until she threatened to find a way to send him to Cherub that he left her alone.

They spent the rest of the day watching TV, while Alex sent various SAS jokes to Tom. And Tom sent mini-Bond quips back. Everything was back to normal.

* * *

Well, there it is, the final chapter. And before you ask, I am planning on doing some sort of sequel to this. I hope everyone enjoyed. Oh, and The cherub books are written by Robert Muchamore and the first book is called The Recriut. I've gotten some questions about that. Let me know what you thought about the story. Much love,

Crowlows.


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